Barack Obama. Mark Zuckerberg. Lindsay Lohan. These celebrities are missing out on hundreds -- and in some cases, thousands -- of dollars in paychecks, stocks and other payments that have been forfeited to the states.

States claim they are trying to find the rightful owners of $41 billion in unclaimed paychecks, stock certificates, life insurance payouts and other valuables left behind at banks and other corporations. But some of the people who have stepped up to claim their property are finding it next to impossible to get it back.